Much Ado About Littles: August 2011

OK, cell phone purge and catch up time...(Funny that it took me until the night after my first day back at work to find time to do this.)

*Dan, his dad, and our neighbor Kevin beat all odds and put together a new massive playset in one day for the kids after our new fence was installed. Ian was clearly beside himself with excitement.

*Then we had a surprise visit from one of our German friends, Michael, and his mom, Eve. They were on a cross country trip and discovered the Twins were playing the Red Sox, so they altered their route and came for the game and the visit. While they were in town, we took them to the Dakota County Fair for a very cultural experience. Anja absolutely loved the fair (well, the rides anyway - the giant slide and Ferris wheel were her favorites) and playing with Michael and Eve. The only wet spot on their visit? When Anja attempted to use the urinal in a biffy again. This time she mistook Dan's foot and sandal for the urinal. But at least this time she had the right, well, you know.

*Token hysterical picture of Ian when he first discovered his feet.

*Anja had her first trip to the dentist. This was the before picture.

There were no after pictures. It didn't go well.

*And, of course, what summer would be complete without several trips to the zoo with our friends Lyla and Rowan? (Can you tell which one is Ian?)

*My sister needed to take 2 of her kids to an event for the day about a week ago, but needed someone to watch her youngest kiddos. So in a stroke of genius, we decided that I would watch Gabby (4), Liam (3), Anja (2) and Ian (5 months). It started off all innocent...

...but it actually went really well. I do, however, have a new and profound appreciation for any moms or daycare providers who watch 4+ kids. I don't know how you do it. I got lucky because Ian fell asleep for a large portion of it. Thank god for my Moby wrap!

*Ah, my bathing beauties. Anja still is scared of baths, but will take a shower. Odd. And she still loves to be wrapped up as a "burrito baby" after every shower.

Ian, on the other hand, looks like he's had a few burritos.

*Token picture of my goofy family. Love 'em.

*Since Dan had never been to the Children's Museum and Anja loved the one in Chicago so much, we took her there a week ago. She had a great time, especially in the water area.

*Anja had a several weeks when she was boycotting naps. I settled for "rest time" in her room. But on some rare occasions, she actually fell asleep. Including a few days ago when she was watching a show and asked me, "Mommy? You turn that off, please?" and immediately fell asleep for an hour and a half on the couch with her special kitty. (swoon)

*For one last hurrah, I took the kiddos to a new park with their friends Lyla and Rowan and their dad. Although you can't tell from the second picture, the swinging twins was one of the highlights for all 4 kiddos. And got lots of funny looks from the other people there.

*This past weekend, we made a quick visit to Wisconsin for a family wedding. Anja had a blast since she is currently obsessed with weddings.

Ian enjoyed himself, too. Especially trying to keep up with his older cousin (10 weeks his senior).

*Is it a bird, is it a plane? Can't tell? Just ask Anja to go outside with her ever-so-fashionable Mickey undies, sock mittens, and 'noculars and she'll figure it out for ya!

*And finally, today was my first day back at work which means the kids were in daycare for the first time together. Anja hadn't been since the beginning of June. But both did well and no crying issues for anyone in the family! And after we picked them up, Ian decided today was a good day to enter the world of sitting unassisted for a longer period of time. A few days ago it was only for 10 seconds or so, but tonight he managed to go for a few minutes while playing. Go little man! He was probably just trying to get a new trick to show off for Uncle Mike who arrived in town this morning for a visit.

A little over a week ago, we made the journey to Chicago to visit Auntie Kimmie and Uncle Mark. We took off Thursday afternoon and made it in 7 hours. Not bad for having an infant and a potty training toddler! They both slept in the car. For the first 45 minutes. That was it.

Friday was spent lounging around in the morning, meeting Mark for lunch, and then the local Children's Museum and outlet shopping in the afternoon. Anja decided that it was Auntie Kimmie time and couldn't have cared less that we were there. It was fun to watch the two of them play with the bubbles and everything.

Saturday, the four of us and Kim headed to downtown Chicago. We had spent our money shopping the day before, so we just went to look at the sites. We discovered the best spot for a view on the cheap. The women's bathroom in the restaurant in the Hancock building! Check this out!

From there, we went to Navy Pier. Namely because Uncle Mark had planted the seed in Anja's mind that the big Ferris wheel was THE thing to do and she could not live life without going on it immediately. All day, she was asking us when she could go on the Ferris wheel. So Anja, Ian, Kim and I went up while Dan waited with the strollers. Except for one millisecond at the very top, Anja loved it and still talks about it.

After the Ferris wheel, we headed to Gino's for some Chicago style pizza where Mark joined us. While we were waiting, we checked out some of the graffiti and found a good one.